Eliza's Heart
by faithkathleen
Summary: Bucky's adjusting to normal life with the Avengers fairly well. However one late night on a run he stumbles into a bar where he meets Eliza covered in bruises she offers him advice. When a situation comes up Bucky takes it upon himself to watch after her and in the process falls for her reserved yet caring personality. Bucky/OC
1. The Bar

It was the middle of spring in New York and Bucky had been living with the Avengers for a little over a year. They've all warmed up to him over time. Tony and Natasha took longer than the others probably because he's the reason Tony's parents are dead and he shot Natasha. He really feels bad for everything he did and he's apologized numerous times, but only recently have they started to feel more comfortable around him. He finally knew he got to Natasha when she offered to spar with him. Tony just flat out told him that even though he's still a little pissed off he would try to let it go.

Most of the team just stays in the tower except Thor who resides on another planet and only comes occasionally. Over the past year we've fallen into a pattern, Steve and Bucky will run in the morning, sometimes together sometimes apart, then come back and spend the rest of the day in the tower doing whatever they please. Natasha and Clint are similar only in the morning they train or spar depending on who's in the gym at the time. Bucky and Steve join them at least once a week just to keep on their toes. Bucky trains more often if he has more nightmares. Even though it's been a while he can't seem to get the Winter Soldier out of his head completely. Specific noises or events sometimes trigger something in his mind and he's always so afraid he's going to hurt one of his new friends.

Anyway the world hasn't needed any heroes lately so the Avengers and Bucky have been laying low.

Bucky was out on a run late at night, around one in the morning actually. He woke up because of a nightmare. It was of his time with Hydra of course. He was on a mission where he had to kill a senator.

 _It's a clear night. The air's crisp and cool enough so he doesn't sweat. There was a man who started asking a few too many questions and dug too deep for Hydra not to take notice. Now that he's a senator with all these secrets Hydra couldn't risk him leaking to the public._

 _His mission: Kill the senator along with anyone in the house with him._

 _Bucky held his pistol as he stood behind the gate waiting for some noise to alert him to anyone's presence. He heard none. Without a sound he made his way through a window into the house. He crept through the kitchen towards the sound of the T.V. He heard the theme of SpongeBob. 'Shit' He hates it when there are kids in the house. He knows they never deserve it, but his job isn't to determine if they deserve it or not. He has a mission he needs to complete. He creeps behind the small boy blissfully unaware of the assassin behind him. In less than 3 seconds Bucky is able to slit the boys throat without a sound. The rest of the mission went off without a hitch the mom wasn't home so all that was left was the father. He was asleep in his bed and made no noise when Bucky slit his throat. He tries to forget and some of the details are fuzzy, but you never do forget the children._

He doesn't know how much later it is when he stops and realizes he's really hungry. Luckily he brought his wallet with him so he won't have to worry about money. He notices he's in a rougher part of town, which makes him a little queasy. He knows he can handle anything, but he doesn't want to fight anyone tonight. Unfortunately the only place he sees is a bar. He doesn't feel like running anymore and would need to ask directions to find the subway anyway so he walks inside knowing they'll be open. He walks in to find a surprisingly calm bar for a Friday night, well technically now Saturday morning. He takes a seat at the bar, one of the many unoccupied seats and waits for the bartender to come around. He notices it's a girl with a black shirt, jeans, white converse, and blonde hair pulled back into a high pony. She has a black eye he notices as she walks over to greet her new customer.

"Hi. What can I get you?" He notices how she tries to put a smile on her face.

"I'll just take a beer please." She nods and walks away to get him his beer. As she reaches for the beer on the top shelf her shirt rides up and Bucky frowns as he notices a bruise on her side. When she takes the beer down he sees her double over and hold her stomach before taking a deep breath and walking back to him.

"Here ya go sir."

"What's your name?" She asks after a second of silence.

"Bucky. Yours"

"Elizabeth, but you can call me Eliza." She says. He nods and they go back into silence.

"What's your story?" Bucky looks at the girl strangely.

"Most handsome people don't come into a bar at 1 in the morning unless something's going on. I can listen if you want to talk."

"Just nightmares." Bucky said. She nodded her head somatically, "Yeah they suck. You know talking to someone helps."

He thinks about it for a minute before talking choosing his words very carefully, "It's something I did that I knew it was wrong, but I had no choice and I keep thinking about how I should have done something differently." She pauses to think about it for a minute before responding.

"It isn't your fault."

"Excuse me?"

"If you didn't have a choice it couldn't have been your fault." He looks down as she continues, "I don't know exactly what happened, but I can tell you that if you truly thought you had no choice or no way out it couldn't have been your fault even if you realized something now after the fact you can't go back and change it. All you can do is learn and grow into someone who won't make the same mistake twice."

Shocked she could know exactly what he needed to hear he took another swig from his beer before asking.

"What happened to your eye?" She looks down quickly adverting her eyes from his.

"Oh I mean it was so long ago, no one can remember things anymore," she starts rambling and Bucky's eyes narrow, "I mean it was nothing I just fell. It's nothing."

He knew she was lying, but let it rest anyway. He was about to ask where the nearest subway station was, but then a group of men walked in. Bucky didn't see them as a threat, but he noticed how Elizabeth shrank back and her eyes grew wide and she started shaking not terribly, but enough that a trained eye would pick it up.

"Elizabeth, my darling," a blonde man said leading the group to the bar, "How've you been?"

She started mumbling too quietly for even Bucky to hear.

"I told you not to mumble my love, remember what happened last time." His eyes flashed dangerously while one hand reached forward. Bucky tensed ready to intervene if necessary, but it wasn't. Suddenly he went back to his original demeanor and said, "Anyway we'll have a round of the strong stuff. Make it on the house."

"But I need the money I can't-,"

"I'm sorry what was that?" He said the smile gone from his face. He leaned close to her and whispered something in her ear while Bucky put his hand on his knife in case he tried to pull anything, but the man pulled away and Elizabeth went off to get them all their drinks. It's been 30 minutes since the men came into the bar and Bucky hasn't left yet, his gut tells him there's more here than what meets the eye. In this time he observes how Elizabeth is extremely tense and seems afraid whenever any of the men look at her, how most of the men have lust in their eyes when they look her way, and these men were violent drunks. This last one was revealed by how they would casually punch each other when they said something the other didn't agree with and over time the punches grow harder and more frequent.

An hour and a half later the men are still there only three out of the five went to the bathroom and haven't come out in fifteen minutes. That left two at the bar. One was the man who spoke to Elizabeth and someone who seemed to be his right hand man.

"Maybe you should go check on them," The secondary man said with what seemed like concern. With a grunt the first man left.

"So Elizabeth I've heard so much about you," the last man directs towards the bartender, "Kyle has told us everything about you and he says you're pretty good in bed." She freezes like a deer caught in the headlights, "I'd like to test that theory personally. We can leave now no one would notice." Silence "I'm afraid that wasn't a question."

She starts shaking again unable to speak as he leaps over the counter and pushes her against the wall and starts kissing her. That's all it took for Bucky to knock the guy out completely.

"You okay?" He asks now growing extremely concerned for the girl. She nods her head her eyes looking at the man's body now on the ground.

"We should probably leave before they come back." She doesn't say anything as he pulls her out of the bar. He offers her his jacket when he notices the cold air.

"Where's your house?" He says determined not to let her walk alone in this neighborhood after what happened in the bar.

"Five blocks away," She says and he wraps his arm around her shoulder seeing her still a little shaken up. She leads the way and about 30 minutes later she says, "Here it is."

It's a worn down apartment building with the red paint peeling off.

"You okay?" He asks again.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." He's not completely convinced with her answer so takes out a piece of paper from his pocket and writes his number on the back.

"If you ever need anything please call this number. I don't have much of a life so it'll be fun to do something for a change! I mean it anything that number is the first you call."

"Thank you." She says seriously taking the card and looking at the number written on the back.

"Now where'd the nearest subway station?"

They left to go on their own separate paths until next time.


	2. Been Shot

Bucky woke up in the morning around 5:30. He doesn't run considering he technically already ran that morning. The first thing he does is grab his cell phone to see if there are any new calls from Eliza. His heart drops in disappointment at the lack of any new messages. _'It's only been a few hours though nothing could've happened in that time'_ he reasons with himself. He rolls out of bed and hope in the shower, but not before he turned his ringer on full volume on his phone and set it on the counter so he would hear it if anyone called.

Once he finishes his shower and gets dressed he takes the elevator down to the main kitchen, phone in hand, to find something for breakfast. Still stuck in his own thoughts about how Eliza's doing he doesn't notice Steve on the elevator until he feels a hand on his arm.

"What?" Bucky says unaware of what's going on.

"I've been calling your name for a while now. Are you okay?" Bucky debates telling his friend about his early morning encounter, but decides against it on the grounds that there's no reason he needs to know.

"Just tired." Steve doesn't look convinced, "Nightmares." That did it as Steve nods empathetically.

"They say it helps to talk about them." Bucky's mind flashes back to Eliza saying those words to him.

"I know." With that an awkward silence fell upon the friends neither knowing how to respond to the other. Bucky glances down at his phone and curses the lack of messages. _'Get a hold of yourself man. She's fine'_ Bucky mentally scolds himself. A minute later the elevator doors open to reveal the main kitchen. Bucky walks off while Steve stays on in his tennis shoes off to go run.

"I'll catch up with you later Buck," Steve says and the elevator doors close before he has a chance to respond. Bucky walks inside the kitchen and starts making some coffee. He nods at Bruce who's reading a newspaper and Natasha in workout clothes grabbing an apple and two water bottles. One probably for Clint.

"Want to join us today Solider?" Natasha asks him. Bucky takes one more look at his phone and decides he needs something to take his mind off this girl.

"Sure." He responds before grabbing a water bottle and heading down to the gym right behind Natasha.

In the gym he sees Clint already shooting his bow and arrow using a new project Tony made. It creates a holographic moving image to imitate real targets or enemies. Of course every arrow hits its mark. Natasha throws the water bottle at Clint and too focused on the targets the water bottle hits him square in the arm.

"Damn it Nat," Clint groans as he turns around and sees Bucky. Clint was the first one to warm up to Bucky considering he knows what it's like to be controlled and have no choice in your actions. He grins before welcoming the solider, "Hey Buck! What's up man? It's been a while since you've been down here?"

"It's been a while, but I remembered I was supposed to take your pride down a notch at least once biweekly."

Clint faked being offended as he put his hand over his chest as if clutching his heart.  
"How dare you. My pride is perfectly fine. I know I'm the best and have no shame in it." Clint gives a smug smirk.

"Want to put your money where your mouth is?" Natasha asks challenging the archer. Clint's eyes grow wide knowing he has a small chance in beating Natasha, but no chance in beating the Winter Soldier.

"Um, well," Clint stutters, "I think my track record speaks for itself and this is a bit unnecessary," Natasha and Bucky smirk at each other, "This rivalry doesn't promote the team spirit and is extremely unpatriotic. I don't think Steve would approve so I must refuse out of the goodness of my heart."

"Fine Bucky how about we go and let Clint see how Russians do it."

"мне было бы приятно." _It would be my pleasure._

They both hop onto the sparing mat each circling the other waiting to see who would make the first move. Bucky strikes first aiming his metal fist for her face while his right leg goes for her knee, Natasha blocks the attack on her face, but doesn't completely dodge the blow to her leg. She retaliates with a side kick and the fight continues for 5 more minutes until Bucky finally pins her down with his legs while holding her arms down with his metal arm and holds his other against her neck.  
"I think we have a winner!" Clint cries from the sidelines after 10 seconds of that position.

Bucky gets off Natasha and offers his hand to help her up.

"Good fight," Bucky praises.

"You too," Natasha return.

"Oh Bucky, your phone was ringing during your fight," Clint speaks up.

"What?" Bucky yells suddenly alarmed.

"Yeah I didn't answer it or anything cause I didn't know who it was."

"Merde," Bucky mutters under his breath as he grabs his phone and looks at previous calls. He notices he has one voice message. He listens to it.

 _"Hi Bucky, it's Eliza from the bar,"_ he notices her voice cracking and whispering extremely quietly he can barely make out her words, _"I'm really sorry to bother you, but I'm not sure who else to call. I can't go to the police, but I hope you know how to patch up a bullet wound because I may have been shot."_ Bucky's blood freezes at those words, _"It's not bad I don't think. I can't really think clearly right now to be honest. It's in my leg and it doesn't hurt that much surprisingly,"_ 'shock' Bucky thinks to himself as he throws on his jacket and gets on Steve's motorcycle, he knows Steve won't mind given the circumstances. _"Anyway,"_ he words are getting slower and more slurred as she continues speaking, _"I hope you're coming. I'm in my apartment and-"_ Bucky hears a thud and silence on the other line as he races through the streets breaking almost every traffic law possible. _'Please let me get there in time. Please.'_ That's his only thought on the entire ride over to her apartment with peeling red paint.

 **A/N**

 **I'm in love with this story so far and I feel really passionate about it, so I'm going to update as soon as possible! Please review so I know how everyone feels about it so far! R &R s'il vous plaît!**


	3. Stay Alive

Bucky raced over on Steve's motorcycle his heart beating wildly as he weaves in and out of cars going far over the speed limit. He gets to the bar and quickly turns remembering her leading him to her apartment. He finally sees her apartment and he walks in realizing he has no clue what apartment number she lives in. He sees a man passed out on the stairs. Bucky grabs him and asks, "What room does Elizabeth live in?"

"Wha-" the man groggily opened his eyes and looked up at him, "Idunno wht ya talkin bout," he slurred. Bucky pinned up against the wall and held a knife to his throat, "Do you know Elizabeth, she's in her 20s with blonde hair works at bar down the street?"

The man nods his head very cautious of the knife near his throat.

"Where does she live?" Bucky growls pressing the knife closer trying to control himself before the man answers him, "213. She lives with her boyfriend Kyle," the man spits out before Bucky drops him and runs up the stairs two at a time. His heart about to beat out of his chest, when he finally sees the room 213. He wastes no time getting in surprised that the door's unlocked. He's overcome with the stench of alcohol as soon as he gets in and notices broken glass on the ground. He looks around to find a shell case from a bullet lying on the ground. He pockets the shell and continues his search for Eliza. His heart clenches when he finds her in the living room on the ground in a pool of blood her phone in her hand. _'She must have passed out from the blood loss'_ He bends down and feels for a pulse in her neck still going steady and that's all he needs.

"Eliza. Doll, I need you to wake up for me okay," He gently tries to coo her back into reality. He knows he needs to get her back to the Tower, but he can't get her back on a subway without too much attention and Steve's motorcycle can't get her back in her condition. He looks around to find a tee shirt lying on the floor he grabs it and presses it on the bullet hole in her thigh. She wakes up and lets out a small cry. Bucky feels his heart break when he hears this, "Hey doll, you're fine. Eliza look at me, you're going to be okay."

He quickly whips out his phone and dials Steve's number. He picks up after the second ring.

"Hey Bucky."

"Steve I need help it's an emergency."

"What is it?" Steve says seriously.

"I have a girl with me she's been shot. I'm in her apartment now, but I can't get her back to the tower she's too injured to take her back on your motorcycle."

"Tony's tracking your phone now and will be there in about 15 minutes and Bruce is prepping the medical room now."

"Thank you," Bucky replies.

"No problem. Just don't let her die and you have a lot of explaining to do when you get back."

"Yes sir," Bucky teases before hanging up and refocusing on the girl bleeding next to him.

"Eliza," she lifts her unfocused eyes to kind of meet his, "You're okay doll. I'm here."

 _'I'm going to kill the bastard that shot her'_ he thinks to himself.

"I'm sorry," she slurs, "I got blood on the carpet." Bucky chuckles a little, "It's fine doll, don't worry about it you're more important."

"He's gonna kill me," she says her eyes wide and filled with fear a tear slides down her face. Bucky's heart skips another beat as he hears this.

"I won't let him." He says planning this man's slow and painful death.

"I'm tired," she says closing her eyes.

"Stay awake," he says urgently getting her to open her eyes again. _'Come on Tony hurray up'_

"I have a friend who's coming to drive us somewhere to help you."

"No hospitals," she whispers, "Please."

"No his house actually a friend who's a doctor lives there. You'll like him." _'Damn it Tony'_ he curses when he finally hears his phone ringing.

"Come on out Barnes I have a sweet ride for you and your girl."

Bucky immediately hangs up, picks Eliza up bridal style, and rushes her downstairs to Tony's waiting car. Tony starts driving as soon as they're both in breaking so many traffic laws on the way.

"Hey girly, what's your name?"

"Elizabeth, but you can call me Eliza," she says softly.

"Well you can call me Tony."

"Hi Tony, nice to meet you. Thank you for giving me a ride." He looks back for a second to give her a smile, "I always love helping people who need a free ride!"

"I'm really sorry I'm getting blood on your seats."

"It's fine! It'll wash out, don't sweat it." Bucky's relieved that Stark's talking kept her awake for the entire ride back to the tower where Bucky raced her up to Bruce in the medical bay.

"Hi, what's your name?" Bruce asks gently once she's seated already starting to get tweezers, gauze, and wipes to disinfect the wound.

"Elizabeth," she says her eyes going out of focus again, "Eliza," she whispers her eyes closing.

"Hey Eliza, I need you to stay awake please. Can you do that for me please?"

She suddenly opens her eyes, "I'll try," she responds.

"Shit," the doctor mutters under his breath.

"What?" Bucky asks.

"The bullet's still in there. I need to get it out," both men notice Eliza's breathing speed up and her wide eyes, "Eliza, calm down," She meets the doctors eyes, "Deep breathes please." She calms her breathing, but her eyes are still wide and another tear slides down her face.

"Bucky distract her," Bruce whispers in his ear.

"You want to hear a story," she nods her head as Bucky launches into an elaborate childhood story of a double date he went on with Steve where Steve's girl ditched him for Bucky. She grabs his metal hand when the doctor digs for the bullet and squeezes her eyes shut, but continues to nod and listen to his story.

By the time the doctor's pulled the bullet out and bandaged her bullet wound Eliza's completely asleep. Bruce makes a few comments about her bruises and a broken bone, but honestly Bucky wasn't listening he was too busy thinking about the girl in the hospital bed in front of him and wondering how he grew to care about her this fast.

 **A/N**

 **Ha! Two chapters in one day! I hope you guys liked it and like where the story is headed! As always reviews are extremely appreciated feel free to ask me any questions and have a lovely day!**


	4. Similar Roots

Bucky never left her side while she slept. Bruce decided she needed to rest and gave her some medicine so she wouldn't hurt while sleeping or immediately when she woke up. Tony came in and talked to Bruce about how she was. Bruce informed him and Bucky that she might have trouble walking on that leg for a few weeks and he put her wrist in a brace because it's broken. He also mentioned his concern for some bruises from at least a week ago that he bandaged and a few shards of glass that were in her leg. He said she shouldn't be alone when walking because of her leg and if she tried to walk and fell she might injure herself even more. They didn't say much about it, but Bruce mentioned the best place for her to recover would be in the tower with them.

Steve, Clint, and Natasha also came once Tony left asking what happened and who this girl was.

"I meet her at a bar yesterday morning on my run. She talked to me for a little bit before some guys that knew her came in. I got a bad feeling and refused to leave her alone with them. When one got her alone he pressed her against a wall and started making out with her despite her saying no and he threatened to rape her. I knocked him out and walked her home. Before she left I gave her my cell number and told her to call if she needed anything. In the middle of training she called and told me she'd been shot and was in her apartment, so I raced over and called you."

They all listen silently looking at the girl.

"What's her name?" Clint finally asks after a moment of silence.

"Eliza," Bucky says.

"How did you know the guys in the bar knew her?" Steve asks remembering that detail.

"They used her name and she seemed terrified of them."

The three of them stay for a little more before Natasha leaves with Steve leaving Clint and Bucky with Eliza.

"Was it her father or boyfriend?" Bucky freezes.

"What do you mean?"

"The bullet wound, I can't explain, but the black eye, broken wrist, various bruises, and shattered glass are all signs of domestic abuse," Clint states, "I would know," he adds on sadness plaguing his stormy eyes.

"Boyfriend." Bucky responds after a moment of silence. Clint nods.

"You can take a shower you have her blood on your clothes. I'll watch her," the archer offers without taking his eyes off the girl.

"I'm fine."

"I'm sorry soldier that wasn't a question. Go wash up. The blood might scare her."

"Okay. Tell me if she wakes up."

"Roger that."  
"Thank you Clint."

"No problem." With that Bucky leaves to go take a shower leaving Clint with Eliza still sleeping in a hospital bed due to wake up within the next hour or two. After Bucky leaves Clint's left alone with Eliza and the memories of his father.

 **Trigger Warning Child Abuse and Alcoholism**

 _It was during dinner one month after his mother died. His father's drinking habits had been getting worse by the day. Clint wanted to tell the police, but Barney wouldn't risk foster care. So they endured it._

 _"So Clint. Howya doin at school?" his father's slurred words set both boys on the edge._

 _"Fine."_

 _"Come on tell me a little bit more." His father pressures the beer bottle still in his right hand._

 _"I'm pretty good at English and history, but math isn't my best," Clint explains, "It's a little hard to focus in that class and," Clint couldn't get any more out before a large shatter cut him off and a large meaty hand grabbed his wrist and threw him on the ground._

 _"Bullshit," his father growls out while Clint stares at him in fear, "Did I ask for an excuse. You pathetic excuse for a child,"_

Clint squeezes his eyes shut to block the memory and hold back the tears threatening to fall. Oh yes he's familiar with those injuries as he reflects on the times he'd tell his teacher he fell or got into a fight downtown unable to tell the truth for Barney's sake. He looks back to Eliza and promises he will kill the son of a bitch who thought he could get away with this. He also remembers other children in foster care and their behavioral issues after dealing with domestic abuse. He and Barney helped each other and constantly reminded each other that he was gone and they didn't have to worry about him anymore, but he remembers the children who would have a panic attack if someone yelled or would submit to any kind of treatment believing they deserved it. Clint would always try to help them and he'd be damned if he was going to stop now.

 **A/N**

 **I love reading all the positive reviews so far! Thank you for reading this story I'll update as soon as possible! Please review and have a wonderful day!**


	5. Her Story

It was about 15 minutes later when Clint heard a loud groan and saw the Eliza stretch her arms towards the sky, her eyes still closed.

"Well good morning sleeping beauty!" Her eyes snap open and she sees Clint with a huge smile stretched across his face. Her face suddenly mirrors him on a smaller scale as she pays him back with a sweet smile of her own. She looks around and her eyes furrow together as she examines her new surroundings.

"What happened?" She asks confusion laced in her raspy voice. Clint brings her a cup of water as he answers her, "My friend, Bucky said you called him saying you were shot so he raced over to your place, called us, and brought you back here. Bruce, my friend, looked over your injuries and I'll let him tell you the official medical terms, but basically it'll be hard to walk for a little bit and he doesn't want you walking alone for a while in case you fall," she nods listening to Clint's explanation, "He also patched up some glass shards that were in your leg, braced your broken wrist, and put a salve on some of your bruises to help them heal quicker and be less painful."

There's a moment of silence as Eliza takes in all the new information. Clint takes a deep breath in before speaking again, "You're going to have a lot of people asking what happened and I'm going to offer you 3 options. Number 1, you repeat the story over and over to everyone who asks reliving every second of it and your story will probably lead to more questions. Number 2, you don't tell us anything about what happened and go back to your life, it is an option, but we can not help you if you don't let us. Finally, option number 3, you tell me or Bucky what happened and we can help you to the best of our ability and would be able to tell anyone else you want to know as opposed to you telling them."

Eliza ponders her response to his proposition. She can't relive what happened over and over and doesn't want a lot of people asking her questions and judging her for the situation she put herself in so that rules out option number 1. On the other hand she can't just go back to the man who shot her right away, he needs some time to cool down before she goes back. That leaves option number 3, she doesn't know this man or Bucky very well, but they seem nice enough to listen and help.

"I'm so sorry where are my manners. What's your name?" She asks realizing she never asked. Clint smiles.

"Clint. And you?"

"Bucky hasn't already told you?" She teases.

"I'd rather hear it from you."

"Elizabeth, but you can call me Eliza."

"So Eliza, what'll it be?" She bites her lip and plays with her fingernails nervous about what Clint and Bucky will think of her if she tells them.

"Can I talk to you and Bucky?" Clint smiles again, but not as bright more of a comforting smile.

"Of course," Clint pulls his eyes away to look at the ceiling, "Jarvis, can you tell Bucky that Eliza's up and wants to talk to him?"

"Right away sir."

"What's that?"

"That's Jarvis. Tony, the man who drove you here, can tell you more about him, but long story short he runs the house." Eliza sits in confusion still not comprehending what Jarvis is. A minute later Bucky comes rushing in his hair still damp from his shower. A black tank thrown on showing his metal arm, which Eliza doesn't seem to notice. He's extremely thankful she doesn't seem put off by it or stare at it like most people do.

"Hello, Bucky," he smiles at her soft voice, "Hi Eliza, how're you doing?"

"Ask me once the pain medication wears off," He smiles brighter and nods at this. Clint gives a pointed cough after a moment of silence and Eliza's smile drops.  
"So, um," she starts unsure and Clint steps in to help her, "I told Eliza instead of telling the entire team what happened she could chose just to tell one of us, she decided to tell us and we could see what we could do to help and pass the general information on to the team if necessary."

Bucky nods and both men look to Eliza patiently waiting until she's ready.  
"Well, um," she chuckles, "I'm not sure where to start."

"How about what happened after I walked you back from the bar."

"Okay," she smiles at Bucky grateful, "It was about 30 minutes after you walked me back that Kyle came home alone. Thank God," she added under her breath, both men notice and look at each other for a split second before continuing listening to Eliza's story, "He walked in slammed the front door and came over to me beer bottle still in his hand," she's looking in her lap now shaking a little as she tells her story, "He wanted to know why Lucas was knocked out. I told him that Lucas made out with me when I said no, so a man punched him. He," she paused tears in her eyes as Bucky sat down next to her and held her close, "he threw me against the wall and was chocking me. He said he wouldn't stop until I told him the truth that Lucas wouldn't touch his property. I almost blacked out and he threw me to the floor and kicked me. Suddenly he stopped. I was so thankful I almost cried in relief," she paused for a second to catch her breath tears now streaming down her face and continued her voice cracking, "He, he accused me of being a whore and claimed I threw myself at Lukas and said it was my fault for leading him on. Then he," she stopped, "I'm so sorry."

"You're fine Eliza. Please continue when you're ready," Clint reassures her. She breaks down crying in Bucky's arms while he strokes her hair and whispers comforting words to her in Russian and French. A few minutes later she stops crying and continues.

"Then he, took his clothes off and climbed on top of me," Bucky and Clint felt their blood freeze at those words ready to kill this bastard, "He said he need to remind me who I belonged to. It wasn't the first time we did it, but it was the most violent. I must have passed out from the pain," she squeezes her eyes shut trying to repress the memory and Bucky continues whispering soothing words to her, "I'm okay," she assures them, "Anyway I woke up some time later alone and naked in our apartment, put my clothes on my entire body protesting every move I made. I just sat on the couch for a while then Kyle came in furious about something. He kept screaming something, but I can't remember what it was he didn't notice me at first, at least I didn't think he did until he started talking to me. He kept saying it was my fault over and over practically screaming it. Then he completely 180ed and backed off and walked into another room. I close my eyes for a second and before I know it I hear a gunshot and open my eyes to see him with a gun in his hands pointing it at me. I feel a burning in my thigh and see a bullet wound. I fall to the ground unable to hold myself up while Kyle is breaking anything he can get his hands on. The first thing I do after Kyle leaves is call Bucky and here we are." She finishes her story her face tear streaked both men almost shaking in anger at this man.

Eliza notices neither man looking at her and they both seem angry, she knows this is when they'll decide she's not worth it and send her back with nothing.

"I'm really sorry."

Both men snap out of their train of thought when they see Eliza sitting there heartbroken.

"It's not your fault at all Eliza. You're perfect. Nothing's your fault," Clint quickly dashes any doubt in her mind.

"Hey doll, you're fine. We're going to look after you now and nothing's going to happen to you ever again," Bucky whispers in her ear.

A comfortable silence falls upon the group before Clint says, "Let's have Bruce check out your injuries now that you're awake those pain medications are going to be wearing off soon."

 **A/N**

 **I would like to take a moment and tell anyone who is going through a situation similar to this to please get help. No one ever deserves to be the victim in any situation. Thank you for the lovely reviews, I'd love some more and I'll update as soon as I can! Have a lovely day!**


	6. New House Arrangements

Clint got Jarvis to call Bruce into the room once Eliza had calmed down and splashed some cool water on her face.

"Good morning Eliza," the doctor greeted kindly.

"Morning," she responded softly.

"How are you feeling today?"

"My leg hurts and I'm a little sore, but nothing too bad," Bruce nods as he listens to this.

"So I'm going to give you a quick run down on your injuries, first and most obvious you were shot in your leg. I got the bullet out and bandaged it; it's not infected, but will be sore for a while and it'll be difficult to walk without support for about a week at least. I also advise not to walk alone for a while in fear of your falling and not being able to get help. I also noticed-"

"Hey guys what's shaking?" Tony interrupted Bruce's explanation as he sauntered into the room and plopped down in the seat next to Clint and propped his legs up on the medical table.

"Glad to you see awake Liza! I brought you an apple since I figured you'd be pretty hungry," he says as he pulls out a honey crisp apple.

"Thank you sir," Eliza says as she grabs the apple and takes a big bite from it.

"Tony none of this sir nonsense."

"Okay, thank you Tony," Eliza mumbles her mouth full of her apple.

"Okay then," Bruce clears his throat, "As I was saying, I also noticed some glass in your leg which I was able to take out and bandage with ease seeing how none of the pieces were in too deep. Tony and I invented a salve that will help you heal quicker which I put on all of your cuts and your bullet hole."

"Thank you," Eliza directs to Bruce and Tony. Tony waves his hand dismissively, "No problem."

"Also, you have a broken wrist which I put in a brace and some more bruises that I put some salve on and gave you medicine. I'm also prescribing you some heavy pain medication for you to keep if the pain gets bad," Eliza nods, "Only take 2 for every 4 hours. If the pain continues please call me. Tony took the liberty to put all of our numbers in your phone so reaching us shouldn't be an issue."

"So when can I go back?" All the men in the room paused when she said that.

"Go back where exactly?" Tony asked.

"My apartment and job. I can't just get up and leave without an explanation," Eliza looks around the room to meet everyone's eyes before continuing, "I just need to give Kyle some time to cool down. It's my fault he blew up I shouldn't have left the bar before he did and I should have been able to stop him."

"From shooting you?" Tony asks extremely confused.

"Yes."

Everyone in the room doesn't say anything for a while not knowing how to react to this. Clint with the most experience knows that self-blaming is one of the most common signs of domestic abuse thinking you could have done something differently or that you did something to deserve this treatment.

Tony didn't need to be told the full story he understood the basics and recognized an abused girl when he saw one and refused to let he go straight back to her abuser.

Bruce also knew the overview of the situation by how Eliza's talked and reacted so far. Bucky knew he wouldn't let he go anywhere with a chance of her being hurt.

All men were perplexed on how to handle the situation. After a few minutes of silence Clint finally spoke up, "Well, you'll need someone with you at least for the next week, so how about you stay with us here until then," Clint held his hand up to stop Eliza's protests, "Tony has more than enough room for you and we don't want to see you leave while still injured. When Bruce says you're 100% healed we can have another discussion on what's going to happen, but until then you should stay here."

Eliza pauses considering the generous offer.

"What about clothes for the next week?"

"Nat has got to have something in your size and if not we can go shopping."

"My job?"

"I'll call them and say you're taking a weeks leave for personal problems."

"I can't take a week off. 3 days at most or they'll fire me when I get back and I need the job."

Tony spoke up this time, "We'll take shifts at your bar making sure you're okay and out of trouble."

After a few minutes of mulling over all this new information in her head Eliza finally replies, "I think this might just work."

With that all the men broke out into grins. Tony headed off to start designing a room for Eliza to stay in and Clint went to go get her some filling and nutrious food while Bruce finished checking her vitals and went to get her pain medicine and Bucky stayed with her. They may not keep her here forever, but at least she'll be with them until she's healed.

 **A/N**

 **Again hope you liked the new chapter as well as the speedy update! Please review!**


	7. Apples to Apples

Bedridden Eliza relied on her new friends for entertainment. Bruce didn't want her up and about too much so for the first day Bucky refused to let her get out of bed. Everyone took watches while Eliza was stuck in bed. Bruce told her about how he traveled the world helping people and all the amazing people he met along the way. She loved hearing about all the different stories of the places he went to. He loved talking to Eliza and she loved listening to him. Bruce grew closer to the young women with every story he told.

Steve also visited Eliza and they both talked about their childhoods. Steve talked about Bucky and Peggy from the war and Eliza talked about the park by her house that she used to run and play in when her parents fought. Steve learned a lot about Eliza and enjoyed talking to her, whenever he started talking about a sad part of his past she'd hold his hand and nod sympathetically then crake a joke making Steve laugh.

Natasha stopped in for a bit just to talk to Eliza not about anything specific. Even though it was just jokes and small talk Natasha felt herself growing closer to Eliza every time she cracked a joke and made Nat smile.

Clint brought samples of his cooking asking for an honest opinion that Eliza was happy to supply. They would pretend they're on a cooking show and Clint would use complicated cooking words to explain his dish and Eliza would use equally confusing words to describe what she thinks of it.

Tony brought up gadgets for Eliza to tinker with and taught her some of the basics of building and inventing things. Eliza never excelled in school socially or academically, but she was so interested in everything Tony said she wished she paid more attention during science. Before he left he promised to take her down to his lab and teach her some more sometime.

Bucky was there with Eliza the most. He always brought her a little snack and would talk to her. Sometimes it was small talk, other times it was childhood stories or subjects with substance. He would constantly make sure she wasn't in any pain and ask her how she was feeling.

Eliza appreciated everything they were doing for her, but she really didn't want to wear out her welcome. On day 2 in the tower she convinced Tony to let her down into his lab. He supported her in the elevator and into his lab until he got her a rolling chair so she could still technically move around. He showed her some of his basic inventions and deconstructed them in order to teach her how to rebuild them. Eliza was so fascinated she didn't notice how the time flew by until she noticed Bucky knocking on the transparent door to the lab. Tony beckons him in.

"Jarvis said you'd be down here," he starts.

"Well here we are," Eliza says and there's an awkward silence until Bucky speaks up again, "What're you guys doing?"

Eliza's eyes light up, "Tony's teaching me how to invent things and is teaching me a little more than the basics of science. Come see what I did!" she rolls over to the table and pulls out an oddly shaped device.

"Tony made an original version, but he took it apart and I rebuilt it. It was so cool! I've never done anything like it. Oh! You're probably wondering what this is," Eliza dove into an animated explanation of her device while Bucky and Tony share amused looks with each other. They finally looked back to her once she finished her long rant, sighed, and said, "I can't believe I actually did it."

She looks up to Bucky a huge grin on her face, her hair slightly ruffled.

"So did you need something specific?" Eliza asked Bucky.

"Just wanted to remind you to eat. Clint's making grilled cheese and wanted me to grab you two."

"Thanks Bucky!"

"I suppose I could take a break from my genius work to indulge you mundane people," Eliza laughs and Bucky rolls his eyes at Tony. They all head over to the elevator and make their way up to the kitchen Eliza leaning on Bucky for support. Once they reach the kitchen they spot Clint on the stove making grilled cheese sandwiches.

"Hi Clint," Eliza greets as Bucky leads her to a bar stool at the counter.

"Hey Liza! How you feeling?"

"Better. You should have seen what I made in the lab with Tony it was so cool," she retells the entire story and everything about her device while Clint listens and grins back at the excited woman.

"You ever done sciencey stuff before in school?" Clint asks once she finished her rant.

"No. I had trouble focusing in school so I wasn't the best academically. I had to drop out though," they noticed her smile drop a little.

"You're certainly brilliant if given the right teacher apparently," Tony says brightening the mood, "Not to brag, but now you have a stellar teacher." Eliza rolls her eyes at Tony's ego. After a comfortable silence Clint speaks up, "Okay the sandwiches are just about done," he plates a sandwich and places it in front of Eliza.

"Here you go ma'am. Today I have placed in front of you a modern twist on a traditional comfort food, grilled cheese. Don't let the name fool you, this is an unorthodox piece of cuisine made with organic, homemade cheese and whole grain bread. A healthy substitute," Eliza looks at his slyly before giving her critique, "Chef Barton, I appreciate you're effort to recreate an American traditional cuisine. Your platter was satisfying however; it did not exceed my expectations enough to call it a masterpiece." Clint hangs his head in mock shame while Eliza crossing her arms across her chest looking at him critically before they both smiled at each other and broke out into laughter. They doubled over laughing until Steve comes in a smile on his face when he sees the sight in front of him.

"Do I want to know?" Steve asks.

"I don't even know what just happened," Tony confesses.

Clint finally composes himself enough to put everyone else's grilled cheese on a plate and start making more for Steve.

"Hello Steve how are you doing on this fine day?" Eliza asks chipper.

"I'm fine Miss Morris and how are you?"

"I'm just swell. I made an amazing invention with Tony this morning and it was so cool. He helped me, but I still built it in the end!"

"I didn't know your last name was Morris," Clint comments from the stove, "Now I can run a background check. Make sure you're not a serial killer," He winks at Eliza so she knows he's joking and they all make small talk for a while

"We should play a game!" Clint shouts suddenly.

"What game?" Steve asks from the counter after finishing his grilled cheese.

"Do you guys have apples to apples?" Eliza asks timidly, "That was my favorite growing up."

"I don't think so," Tony said, "But we can run out and buy it real quick!"

"No it's fine I don't have any money on me," Eliza reasons.

"I'll cover it," Steve says, "I have too much money since I don't have to pay for rent or food. It's no problem!" Eliza smiles at him graciously.

"Thank you," she signs from the counter and Steve returns the gesture with a small nod.

"Who's going then?" Clint asks, "Eliza obviously since it's her idea for the game, and Steve because he's paying. I just want to go to get out of the tower."

"I'll draw too much attention," Tony says, "Being a famous, billionaire and superhero and all that."

"Bucky you want to come?" Eliza asks. His metal arm could bring some unwanted attention, but he could just wear a hoodie and he also wanted to get out of the tower and do something.

"Yeah. I'll come."

"Great! We taking a car or walking?"

"It's nice outside let's walk," Steve suggests.

About 15 minutes later they all ended up at a nearby mall. They stopped by a toy store and bought Apples to Apples, Cards of Humanity, and a trivia game. They walked through the mall for a little longer before Clint saw a candy store and dragged them all to it. Clint and Eliza were like little kids and ended up buying a bag full of candy, while Steve and Bucky just picked out general snacks for the gang. They also stopped by an ice cream store and got a cone of ice cream each. Steve got vanilla, Bucky had chocolate, Clint got Rocky Road, and Eliza picked out chocolate chip with brownie. They all ate their ice cream while they walked back to the tower. Eliza barely needing help to walk and just slightly leaning on Bucky and Steve while Clint bounced ahead excited to be out and about.

"He's like a little puppy," Eliza remarked and the two men next to her started chuckling.

They finish their ice cream cones by the time they get home and decide to get everyone together for a game night since it's about 5:00 when they get back. They call everyone down to the living room and decide to start with Apples to Apples and work their way from there.

Everyone has a great time and they all grow closer through the pointless bickering and competitiveness specifically of Bucky, Eliza, Clint, and Tony. Steve won Apples to Apples with Eliza leading right behind him. Next they played Card of Humanity which Clint won, with Tony the closest to him being the two with the dirtiest minds. Lastly they got into teams of 2-3. The teams were; Tony and Bruce; Clint and Natasha; and Steve, Bucky, and Eliza.

Tony and Bruce won the science section, Clint and Natasha won the performing arts section, and Steve, Bucky, and Eliza won both the history and music section making them the winners.

"I demand a rematch!" Tony declares once the game finished.

"It's too late to start another game," Bruce says noticing Eliza yawning.

"It's not that late," Tony whines.

"It's 2:00 in the morning," Natasha says getting up.

"Fine we'll finished this later. This isn't over!" Tony yells, they all roll their eyes and then Bucky notices Eliza asleep on his shoulder. His heart flutters just a little bit as he memorizes her peaceful face.

"I fixed her up a room," Tony says in a softer voice so he doesn't wake up Eliza, "Barnes it's the room right across from yours. I assume you can carry her up there," Bucky nods and picks her up bridal style careful not to hold any of her bandages.

He carries her up to her room and lays her down gently in her bed taking one last look before retreating to his room right across the hall and drifting into a rare blissful sleep.

 **A/N**

 **OMG! That's almost 2,000 words that's a new record! Just a little bit of fluff. I'm not sure if I'm rushing this story, as always please review I really appreciate it!**


	8. Idiot

"Eliza woke up the next morning and tensed when she couldn't remember where she was. She leapt out of bed and observed the new room. She remembered playing trivia, but she doesn't know how she got here. "'Kyle must have found me and taken me somewhere they can't find me. Oh my god he's going to kill me.' Her breathing got quicker and she sprinted out of the room. She ran straight into Bucky, who was about to head out for his morning run.  
"Whoa there! You okay?" He asked her noticing her rapid breathing and wide eyes, "Look at me. You're safe here. You're in the Avengers tower. Can you breathe with me, please? In, out, in, out, in, out," they continued this for about a minute more before her breathing was back to normal.  
"I'm sorry," she whispers.  
"It's fine we all have our problems and we all help each other through them."  
"You going for a run?"  
"Yeah, me and Steve are going to run together today then train with Natasha and Clint. We usually train together about once a week depending on everyone's schedules."  
"So I'll be alone today," Eliza confirms.  
"No, Tony and Bruce shouldn't be too busy you can hang with them," Bucky suggests not wanting her to be alone after what just happened, "We can grab something from the kitchen then I can take you down there."  
"Oh thank you."  
"No problem," the elevator ride continues in comfortable silence until the door opens to reveal the kitchen on the main floor. Bucky reaches the counter first and tosses her a honey crisp apple. She takes a huge bite into it and gets back on the elevator as Bucky grabs himself a banana and joins her. He finds himself staring at her on the ride down unable to take his eyes off her as she eats her honey crisp.  
"I ga b'ck ta wrk tomorrow," she says her mouth full of apple.  
"What?" He says completely confused.  
"Sorry," she swallows, "I go back to work tomorrow."  
"Oh," Bucky says dejectedly, "Why?" She looks shocked at his question, "I need money to pay for food and bills and such and I can't just quit."  
"You could," Bucky takes a deep breathe in, "Live here."  
Her jaw drops at the offer and she stares at him for a second before responding, "I can't leave. Kyle may be bad at times, but he means well he really does. He's not always mean."  
"I'm sure he meant well when he shot you," Bucky said getting angrier with every word.  
"Please stop," Eliza says noticing his anger.  
"Maybe if you would have seen this coming he wouldn't have shot you or maybe if you would just admit it then we could do something to help you, but you can't pretend that he's this great guy that you love."  
"Stop."/  
"No!" Bucky's yelling now, "He's a terrible person that deserves to die in the cruelest way possible and I don't understand how you can pretend he's a good guy," he takes a breathe in to calm himself a little, "You should have told someone earlier if you did it wouldn't be this bad and he wouldn't have shot you."  
There's pure silence for a minute Bucky still livid notices Eliza's crying and shaking. He's taken back not realizing how his words hurt her.  
"Doll, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean,"  
"Don't," she gasps out her voice breaking, "You've said enough." His heart breaks when she says this. He just then realized how much he cared for Eliza and how it broke his heart to see her upset. He just stands there like a fish out of water not knowing what to say. Apparently the elevator already stopped, but neither noticed during their argument so it opens to reveal Steve in his running clothes. Steve has a smile on his face that immediately drops when he sees Eliza's tear streaked face.  
"What," he doesn't get the chance to finish his question before Eliza pushes past him crying freely now running away.  
"Bucky," he says as he notices his friend's dejected face.  
"I think I said something wrong." Steve sighs and motions him into the living room where they sit on the couch to talk.  
"Walk me through what happened," Steve demands.  
"Okay," Bucky starts, "This morning I got ready for my run with you and as soon as I got out of my room Eliza ran right into me in the middle of an anxiety attack. I talked her through it and she calmed down. He talked and I told her we could grab a bite to eat and I'd walk with her down to Tony's lab where she could spend the day since I didn't want her alone because of what happened this morning," Steve nods understanding, "She was eating an apple and we were on our way down to the lab when she brought up her going back to work tomorrow. I asked her why and she said she needed the money for bills and food, I told her she could just live here. She said no and defended Kyle saying he's a good man or something stupid like that, so I told her to stop defending him because he's a terrible person and if she told someone sooner he wouldn't have shot her."  
There's a moment silence before Steve speaks up.  
"You idiot!" he smacks Bucky upside his head.  
"What the hell?"  
"You basically blamed her for getting shot and Kyle beating her. By telling her if she went to someone sooner she wouldn't have gotten shot you're telling her if she did something different he wouldn't beat her. No wonder she looked so upset, she probably thinks she hate her for letting this happen to her."  
"What? But I don't hate her at all!" Bucky yells.  
"Listen, Clint might be able to explain this better than I can, but domestic abuse victims perceive things differently. They believe that most people have ulterior motives and live on edge with a lot of people. They also trust harder, I noticed that she started to trust you especially when she told you her story that took a lot. For you to go and basically judge her for it probably hurt her a lot more than other people. Also for telling other people, he could have threatened her, which is what it looks like based on what I've heard and seen. Anyway I hope you understand things a little more now, but you need to get your ass up there and apologize ASAP. We'll run tomorrow and I'll tell Nat and Clint you can't come, but you need to tell that girl that you didn't mean it," Bucky nods and starts to head over to the elevator.  
"One more thing Buck, I see how you look at her, she deserves someone who's going to love her and treat her the way she deserves. Go get her."

 **A/N**

 **I fixed this chapter since it was a little messed up before technical difficulties and what not. Hope you liked it! Please review!**


	9. I will wait

Bucky took the entire ride on the elevator to think about what he was going to say to her. He made his way to her door and stood there hand in the air ready to knock when he froze. He heard he crying and repeating a sentence over and over.

"He hates me. Oh my god he hates me so much. I shouldn't have told him he hates me," he noticed he voice cracking and his heart broke to know he was the reason she was hurting. He carefully knocks on the door and the crying and talking stop completely.

"Yes," a feminine voice called from the other side of the door. Bucky pushes open the door and sees her on the ground holding her knees close to her chest with red puffy eyes and tears covering her face.

"Oh doll," Bucky walks over to her and gets down on his knees to reach her level, "I'm so sorry. I don't hate you at all. I'm just sad that this happened to you."

"Sorry"

"No doll. It's not your fault; you couldn't have done anything differently. I just wish I could have done something to protect you. You deserve so much more than you give yourself credit for. Your smile lights up a room and you're always so considerate and caring. You always put others before yourself no matter what the circumstance is. There's no way anyone could possibly hate you."

She started crying ever harder and Bucky wrapped his arms around her in a hug pulling her close to his chest. In return she threw her arms around his neck.

"He was so nice," she chocked out, "He bought me a drink at a bar and he was so nice. He took me to restaurants, complimented me on my cooking, told me he loved me," She sobbed and buried her head in his chest, "I thought he meant it." She quiets down after a few minutes.

"You deserve someone who will treat you with the respect and kindness you deserve, someone who will love you unconditionally and incessantly. I will be that person if you let me. I will treat you better than Kyle cherish you forever," she looked up at him with wide blue eyes glossy with tears, "I know you're not ready for a relationship, I understand. I will wait until you're ready. You just tell me when, until then I will continue to comfort and look out for you. No matter what happens or what you decide I will be here waiting for you," she looked up at him and pressed her lips against his cheek.

"Thank you," he places his lips on hers as a response. They sit there in blissful silence until they both fall asleep Bucky propped up against a wall Eliza asleep in his arms.

 **A/N**

 **Yes this is a little short sorry about that, but I hope you like where this is going. Please review!**


	10. Hate Mail

Eliza woke up in her bed with puffy eyes. She sat up and looked around wondering how she got there before remembering her crying and talking to Bucky last night. _'He must have carried me to my bed.'_ Her heart flutters when she remembers him saying that he will wait for he and he cares about her. She slowly gets out of bed her head pounding in her skull from all the crying she did last night. She throws on a plain tee shirt Natasha loaned her along with some black shorts after taking a quick shower. Her hair still damp as she makes her way to the main level all the Avengers seem to eat and hang out on. The only person there was Bruce reading a book and sipping his coffee with his glasses perched on his nose.

"Hello Eliza! How are you doing?"

"Morning Bruce! I'm doing well how are you?"

"Pretty good," they both relax into a comfortable silence while Eliza grabs a banana and plops down in a seat by the counter.

"Is it good?" Eliza asks referring to the book.

"Yes, it's written very well."

"What do you like about it?"  
"I like the balance of magical versus reality. The main character is made very relatable and it's easy to understand their struggle between right and wrong. It makes me question how I view things," Bruce pauses and smiles sheepishly, "Sorry I'm rambling."

"No!" Eliza shouts, "Sorry, it's just I loved how passionate you got." They both look down neither knowing what to say for a second until Eliza breaks the silence, "Have you read the Rangers Apprentice?"

"No," Bruce says looking up, "is it good?"

"It's amazing!" Eliza starts lighting up a huge smile gracing her face, "It's a series about a boy named Will who's bullied by another kid who becomes his best friend later on and he's trained by a guy named Halt who teaches him all these badass skills like how to shoot, fight, track, and ride a horse," she stops a blushes, "It's just a really good series and I think you'd really like it."

Another comfortable silence falls upon the pair and then Bucky comes up sweaty from his morning jog.

"Morning Bucky," Eliza greets.

He flashes her a dazzling smile and replies, "Good morning doll." Before Bucky can get another word in Tony comes up from the elevator.

"Barnes I need to talk to you," Tony starts, "Now."

"Okay," Bucky hesitantly follows him into the elevator and notices a cell phone in Tony's hand.

"Jarvis stop the elevator and delete any footage of this."

"Tony, what's going on?"

"When you brought Eliza in she left her phone in my car and I kept it. There have been some messages from her boyfriend," Bucky's heart clenches at that word, "that I think you should hear."

"Okay, play them."

 _'Hey Eliza, where are you baby I'm bored and want some entertainment? Anyway call me.'_

 _'I think you're overreacting it was just a little gun shot, it was even an accident.'_

 _'I swear to god Eliza if you don't pick up your phone I'm going to shot you again!'_

 _'Listen here you little bitch, you're lucky I took you in when your mom didn't want you. Do you really think anyone, except me will ever care about you.'_

"There are more just like those," Tony says quietly. Bucky punches the wall repeatedly leaving a dent. _'How dare that son of a bitch talk to her that way, I'm going to torture him in the painful way possible and watch as the light dims from his eyes.'_ He suddenly snapped back into focus to see multiple dents in the elevator around him and Tony looking terrified in the corner.

"Bucky?" he asks timidly noticing Bucky's lack of rage, "You in there bro?"

"I'm going to kill him."

"I think we all want to, but we can't."

"Why the hell now?" Bucky asks venom in every word.

"The scum is still Eliza's boyfriend and we can't hurt her by killing him. No matter what she says she'll always care for him so we can't kill him," Bucky stands there fuming from head to toe about to freak out again when tony asks, "Are we going to let her hear the messages?"

Bucky ponders the possibility and the pros and cons of the situation before compromising, "She has a few more days, if she decides to go back then we can play her the messages, but until then this will stay between us. Understand?"

"Yes sir," Tony mock salutes, "You know her boss also called and left a friendlier message telling her she has to come in this evening or she's fired, that we do have to tell her."

Bucky nodded still fuming unable to give a verbal response. Tony left the elevator with a comment about getting men to come fix the elevator and left Bucky alone with his thoughts about Eliza.

 **A/N**

 **I'm soon sorry it took so long for me to update this! I'm not sure how many people like where this story is headed, please drop a quick review to tell me how you feel about this story so far!**


End file.
